Dylan knows exactly what he’s doing, and his voice fits his work perfectly. Letting it grow on you is worth the effort.
Let Meatloaf, who I mostly like too, have the sweet voice.
I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. I still don’t like the way it sounds. 
I can deal with it on some of his early stuff, and maybe I’ll borrow a copy of Modern Times when I have a chance. Don’t even get me started on Meat Loaf…
If you get Modern Times, stop by his web site and get the lyrics as well. That helps me become accustomed to his voice.
I’m on my second listen to MT (I burned a cassette for the car and listen to it during commutes), and I’m pleased that he’s still around, producing music. I’m so used to pop songs that’s so easy to squeeze the meaning out of that it’s fun to dig into Dylan’s work and let my imagination find meaning in the words.
Even if it makes me wonder what Lennon would be doing nowadays if …
Well, if you want to describe it as such, I do prefer Dylan from his “fuck you,” days, but that’s because he was better at doing that sort of thing. Bob Dylan isn’t a genius. He’s just a human being who is good at doing some things and not good at doing some other things.
My opinion on Modern Times is not due to the type of music; I like plenty of records stylistically similar to that album. I just think that Dylan doesn’t do that music very well. It put me to sleep, where plenty of artists doing that sort of thing keep me excited.
What? I never mentioned Dylan’s sales. Whatever, good for him. Get your cash on, mayne. But I’ve listened to the record, and it’s not a good record (and I’m not sure if you’re kidding, but the Jack Smith was a name to signify a generic artist. Substitute it with John Doe if it’s causing confusion.)
I bought the album yesterday. While it isn’t bad and may grow on me, I found my attention wandering on some of it, particularly with the more formulaic blues format tunes. That’s on first go around, though.
Marley23 sez;
What, not an opera fan? 
Peace,
mangeorge